The Darkness Descends- Book One: The Return
by TheMaskedCalligrapher
Summary: After defeating Gaea, Greeks and Romans are looking forward to settling down. However, they live in a mythological world, so now the eight demigods- Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Frank Zhang, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque, and Reyna Ramírez-Arellano set sail again aboard the rebuilt Argo II, journeying to stop their most formidable foe yet.
1. Chapter 1- Back from the Dead?

LEO

**AS LEO FLEW BACK TOWARDS CIVILIZATION,** his first thought was how to explain everything that had happened.

First, he died. Then, he saved Calypso. Next, he had to let Calypso go. Finally, his father and his stepmother appeared to him while he was flying a sixty foot long tank back towards Camp Half-Blood.

Oh yes, Leo was definitely ready to write the children's book depicting the life and times of Leo Valdez.

But first, he had to get him and Festus back home...and face the wrath of his friends, who were probably going to kill him for carrying out his stupid plan, forcing Jason and Piper to fall from an airplane's height, and killing himself.

Just another day in the life of Leo.

The painful part was the physician's cure. That horrible red liquid had acted like a defibrillator, that thing used in that old James Bond movie, the one Piper and he had watched at the Wilderness School. Of course he remembered Jason being there, but thanks to Grandma Hera, that didn't actually happen.

He remembered what Hephaestus had said: _Civilization is never over. Unfortunately, neither is Greece and Rome. Beware what lies next._

'But what could come next?' Leo wondered. According to Jason, Percy Jackson, and Annabeth Chase, Kronos had been the original enemy. Next came Gaea, Princess of the Potty Sludge. So what was worse than Gaea?

He had accessed Hephaestus internet for help on Festus' built in tablet, but of course, nothing. Leo was now really confused.

Hephaestus had told him to go to Mexico, specifically the Yucatan Peninsula. There, his journey would be easier. So Leo had pulled Festus left, and they soared to Mexico. That was the last place Leo wanted to go.

Mexico was where he had been planning to go with Calypso, that fine immortal girl. Oh, man, that was painful, thinking about that. Sometimes, he wished he wasn't so humble, brave, noble, handsome, brilliant...the list went on.

But the look Calypso had given him when he told her, it had made his heart shatter...for the second time that day.

Leo's tears had splashed onto Festus' control panel, temporarily confusing the dragon. His master was crying. Why was his master leaking?

Leo managed to get Festus under control, and dipped below the clouds. There, he saw the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Sailing into the harbor was a large Greek trireme, with a broken front hull.

"WHOOOOOOO-HOOOOO!" cheered Leo. "The Argo II's supreme commander is back, baby!"

He directed Festus straight towards it. On deck, Coach Hedge spotted Leo and Festus and turned the ballista on him. Suddenly, Jason Grace was there, knocking the ballista away from Festus.

"Leo?!" shouted Jason. "What the heck? Are you a ghost?"

"No, man! Took the physician's cure! So how's the weather?" At that, Jason toppled over the railing and into the bay. "Ha!" laughed Leo. "Festus, front of the _Argo II_, buddy!"

Percy Jackson stood on the deck, trying to lift Jason out of the water, but when he saw Leo, he lost his concentration, and Jason fell again, yelling all the way down. Next to Percy was Annabeth Chase, who had her laptop out, clearly trying to identify Leo. Frank Zhang stood nearby with three bows nocked right at Festus's eyes, but he lowered it when he saw Leo.

Amidships, Piper McLean and Hazel Levesque stood, peering down at Jason screaming from the water. Next to Hazel was…Leo's heart skipped a beat, which probably wasn't good for it, considering everything he had just been through. There was a girl next to Hazel, the praetor of New Rome, Reyna Ramírez-Arellano.

Leo had never actually spoken to Reyna one-on-one, but he had seen her. She was regally beautiful, the kind of girl who could put him into submission if he tried to make a move on her. Yeah, he definitely wanted to get near her.

Leo landed Festus on the dock and ran up the gangplank. "What's up, everybody? Commander-" Piper walked up and slapped him, right across the face. "You suck, Leo Valdez! You _killed_ yourself, and you don't Iris-message for a week! We pronounced you dead!"

"Owww!" yelled Leo. "I was dead for two days, Beauty Queen. After that,...I had some business to take care of."

Percy inspected Festus. "So, the dragon becomes the front part of our hull? I'm no child of Hephaestus, but I can guess that much."

Leo nodded. "Yeah, Festus can repair the broken hull, giving it an extra sixty feet. But I'll need someone who knows what they are doing. Someone who's worked with automatons before.

Reyna stepped forward. "I built my pet greyhounds, Aurum and Argentum. I do know something about automatons. I can help." Leo grinned. "You're hired!"

Percy now was on Festus' back. He held up a harness, the second one on Festus. "Leo, why do you have two harnesses? Who was the other one…" The question died in his throat. He knew the answer. Leo had told him back in Olympia.

But now everyone was interested in the second harness. "Leo?" Piper questioned. "Who was the other harness for?"

"Uh...do we have to do this now? I kind of have to get Festus reinstalled into the hull. But if you want, I can tell you guys…" Leo faltered. Piper looked like she was going to slap him again. "Fine, it was...uh, Calypso. I sort of rescued her off of Ogygia."

"Well, then, where is she?" asked Reyna. Frank kept peering around like he was afraid Calypso was standing next to him, invisibly. Leo forced himself to look at everyone but Reyna as he continued his saga.

"On the way back, I kept thinking about Odysseus, Sir Francis Drake, even Percy. What would have happened to you guys, or even me, if Calypso hadn't been on Ogygia, waiting to tend to you? I think we would have died. Calypso's fate is to help the greatest heroes, so I told her, and left her on an island near the mainland."

A cold silence followed Leo's story. "God, I'm so sorry, Leo," Hazel said sadly. "That must have been tough, but you are right. If Calypso hadn't been there, Percy would have died, Saturn might have destroyed the gods, and we'd all be dead."

Frank awkwardly attempted to change the subject. "So, why Mexico?" Leo looked up and grinned. "I'm glad you asked. According to my stepmother, this place was home to a famous son of Hephaestus."

"You have a stepmother?" Jason interrupted. "Please, Jason?" Leo fake sighed. "Yeah, Aphrodite, man. Piper's mom. She talked to me over the Atlantic about…well she talked to me. Sibling-five!" Leo raised his hand for a high-five to Piper and kept talking.

"Anyway, this particular son of Hephaestus attempted to do the impossible: conquer time. He created a green LED watch way too advanced for his time, mostly be breaking into Daedalus' place as well as my dad's forge. He froze time for so long, it only unfroze when it broke. I think it might be in that temple."

"So, could one of you brave soldiers go and get it?" finished Frank. "Yeah, I'll go. I kind of want to see this guy's work, so I have a bar to compare against you when your next thousand inventions blow up."

A chorus of laughter broke out. Jason and Percy volunteered to go as well, and Leo would stay with the girls to finish the hull.

After the boys left, Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel went back on board. Leo was about to head for the front of the ship when something tugged at his arm.

"Hello, Leo," smiled the praetor of New Rome. "Do you mind if we talk as we finish your ship?"


	2. Chapter 2- A Bilingual Chat

LEO

**THE FIRST THING THAT WENT THROUGH LEO'S MIND** was '_Reyna's gonna kill me, and I didn't even hit on her yet…' _

Turns out, that wasn't why Reyna wanted to talk with him. She watched Jason, Percy, and Frank head toward the temple, before turning to him. Leo wanted to duck, maybe make up an excuse, possibly even go listen to Annabeth talk about architecture for three hours.

Gods, he must either really like this girl or was really scared of her if that was his cop-out. Or both.

"So, tell me how you ended up like this?" Reyna asked. "Frank told me some of it, but since you guys were running from eidolons, maybe he missed some of the story. I still remember _you_ firing on New Rome, Leo. I haven't forgotten."

Leo told her the story: how Hera, his godly grandmother, had tried to toughen him by babysitting him as a child, how Gaea had tricked him into burning down his mother's warehouse, how he and Piper had found Jason and all three had gone to save Hera, how he built the _Argo II_, and all of the adventures, the loneliness he had felt across the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

He expected Reyna to say, '_Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry.'_ or '_Well, that's a demigod's life for you.'_ What he didn't expect her to say was, "You switched from English to Spanish constantly."

"Oh, sorry," Leo sighed. He started to repeat his story, but Reyna stopped him. "_I understood perfectly. I speak Spanish too, you know." _In perfect Spanish nonetheless. Leo tried to ignore his heart skipping and his pulse racing.

"_Así que, mi reina, ¿por qué usted realmente me pregunta aquí después de que los chicos dejaron?_" Leo smirked. She didn't even miss a beat. "Why did I ask to talk to you after the guys left? Well, as you might have heard, the giant Orion hunted me, Nico di Angelo, and Coach Hedge up there as we transported the Athena Parthenos back to Half-Blood Hill.

Leo rolled his eyes. "Please. One giant? I could have taken him no problem." Reyna glanced at him skeptically. "Leo, several Amazons and Hunters were killed trying to stop him. He's the giant born to kill Apollo and Artemis."

Leo tried not to look scared, but he had seen the Hunters in action. He'd met Apollo and Artemis. The guy born to kill them must be… "So what, he shot you or something?"

Reyna scoffed. "_Lo intentó varias veces, pero Nico consiguió sombra nos viajar lejos en el tiempo. Es lo que dijo en San Juan, mi casa, que quería hablar contigo_."

Leo began fiddling with his remote adapter. "Orion said something? What did he say that threw you off?" Reyna looked troubled, but she spoke anyway. "He said...he said," her voice quavering. "He said 'Jason Grace scorned you. Percy Jackson refused you. Haven't you been _dumped_ enough?'" She must have been really upset, because she stayed in English the whole time.

Leo walked slowly over to her and put his arm around her. "Hey, hey. You haven't been dumped. Jason and Percy just have others. You'll find someone. But, why didn't you ask Piper. Her mom's Aphrodite."

"Yeah, but so is yours, technically. I already talked to Piper, but she didn't really know what to say. Aphrodite told me back in Charleston that "'_You_ _shall not find love where you think or where you wish. No demigod shall heal your heart.'"_ I...I am starting to believe that it might be true."

Leo suddenly had an urge to tell Reyna what Aphrodite had told him, as he and Festus crossed back over the Atlantic. But he withheld himself. '_It wouldn't be fair,_' he chided himself.

Suddenly, Reyna gasped. She stared at Leo's hand. "Your hand's on fire!" Leo shook his hand and extinguished it. "No, its a power of Hephaestus. It's really rare, but yeah, I'm a fire user." Reyna began to stare at him, as if she was seeing him in a whole new light.

"You know," she began in Spanish, "that every crew member has a unique power that their regular siblings don't have. Percy and Jason are natural born leaders. Piper has charmspeak. You have fire, Hazel has Mist manipulation, Frank has shape-shifting, and Annabeth has super-intelligence, even for a child of Minerva...or rather Athena.

Leo leaned forward. "So, what's your unique power? The power that other children of Bellona don't possess?" Reyna grabbed his hand, and suddenly Leo felt much stronger. Like he could raise Gaea and slam her back down again three times.

"My power," Reyna stated, "is that I can transfer my strength, sort of like lending it, to other people, armies even, if necessary. I told Nico that it's a power of the children of Bellona, but that's not exactly true. My sister Hylla does not have this power. I don't like talking about, because everyone will think I'm controlling them. I want people to see me as a leader for reasons I myself have, not because of a power my mother gave me."

Leo realized she had just said that all in Spanish, and not once did he feel like she was sizing him up, comparing him to Percy or Jason or even Frank. The other girls, even though they'd never admit it, did that all the time.

On the quest to save Hera, Leo had been aware of Piper secretly comparing him and Jason. When he'd met Hazel, she seemed to be comparing him and Frank. After Percy joined the crew, Annabeth did so as well, but she only did it for like a minute.

And why shouldn't they size him up? It was because of Leo that the Romans chased them to Charleston, then rounded on Camp Half-Blood. Jason didn't do that. Neither did Percy or Frank. No wonder he was always the seventh wheel.

But Reyna didn't compare him. She saw him as a person, a person that she could talk to. He wanted to be that person, but he was worried he'd hit on her, and she'd curse him, then kill him with everyone watching.

Leo wasn't even aware that they had successfully integrated Festus into the broken hull. The _Argo II _was now fully repaired, and sixty feet longer. Apparently, Reyna worked while her mind and voice were elsewhere, just like Leo. Hot.

Above them, something rolled off the deck. "Grenade!" yelled Hazel's voice. The grenade exploded with buttered popcorn everywhere. Apparently, Hazel and probably Piper had been crouching above them, listening.

Leo was about to tell them off, when he noticed the sun had set. He and Reyna had been talking for hours, and they were about to leave.

"Guys, we can't leave. Not till morning," Leo exclaimed. He was about to tell them what Hephaestus had said when he heard the commotion.

Heading down the hill, were Jason, Percy, and Frank, chased by evil...somethings. They took the shape of shadowy figures, lashing out. Everywhere they went, the shadows disappeared, making the figures darker.

Annabeth began to call out, "Those are _skierá stoicheía._ Shadowy figures born straight from the eternal pit Chaos. What are they doing here?

Things began to click into place. Leo was starting to form a terrible picture about the terrible foe that Hephaestus and Aphrodite had mentioned. Was it possible?

But first, he needed to save his friends, who were getting beaten up pretty badly by the _skierá stoicheía_. He turned to Reyna, who said, "Go. We'll get the horses and come save you guys." Leo turned and jumped over the rail, and surveyed the scene.

Frank was shifting from a lion to an eagle to a rabbit to a wolf. In between changes, Frank fired bows until he was just a blur. Unfortunately, nothing Frank the Amazing Circus Animal did was affecting those shadowy figures.

Percy had summoned some water and encased Riptide with it, in the shape of a trident, literally made of water. He threw the water trident, impaling one of the shadows. But it instantly began to heal. The other shadow came from behind and whacked the son of Poseidon into a hotdog cart.

Jason managed to hold down the shadow Percy had hit with Riptide, but his attacks didn't seem to be doing much damage. "Jason, hit with lightning," called Annabeth. "I think that that, combined with Percy's attack, should destroy it. Leo and Frank, see if you can take the other one.

Thunder broke the sky, but Leo didn't see the bolt. He was focused on his trusty tool belt, and the concentration needed to pull out a bottle of gasoline. He took careful aim at the shadow and threw it.

Frank readied his bow, and Leo snapped his fingers, sending down a spark. The entire arrow lit up, scorching with flames. Frank fired the bow, piercing the bottle of gasoline, sending the shadow up in flames.

* * *

><p>The four boys met at the at the gangplank, watching the two shadows sizzle and burn.<p>

"Nice work, guys," grinned Jason. "I don't think we'll see those guys again."

Frank grunted. "But they probably have brothers, and a master. Our job is never done."

Leo stared at the combusted shadow. On the ground, Leo saw the shadow of a building, and on top of the building, he saw the shadow or silhouette of a kid. But when he looked up, no kid was on top of the building. He was thinking about bringing this to the other guys' attention, when four horses descended from above.

The first horse was a black pegasus. Annabeth rode on its back, gesturing to Percy. "Ok, Blackjack. To the ship." The second horse was dark and stormy; Jason's lightning steed, Tempest, with Piper on its back. Hazel had rode up on Arion, and Frank shakily got on, nervously eyeing the horse. Reyna rode a white pegasus, Guido, and she offered Leo a hand up.

The horses headed to the _Argo II_. Sure enough, Coach Hedge was standing at the ballistae, watching them approach.

"Cupcakes, listen up. Nico has just gotten an Iris-message from the Romans. He just told me what they said. The harpy, Ella, and Rachel Dare, the Oracle, have pieced together a prophecy, and Rachel is certain it ties into you guys."


	3. Chapter 3- The Aftermath & the Prophecy

ANNABETH

**ANNABETH DIDN'T WANT TO HEAR THE PROPHECY. **She and Percy had just gotten their lives back. But now, the only thing she could think of was how they had only had a week of peace, before learning their job wasn't finished.

As she followed the rest of the crew and Coach Hedge to the lower deck, she replayed the week's events in her mind.

* * *

><p>After the blast, Annabeth had only caught a glimpse of Festus, the bronze dragon, spiraling back west, across Long Island Sound. She neglected to tell the rest of Hephaestus' cabin or Jason and Piper so as not to give them false hope.<p>

Jason and Piper were very withdrawn after Leo's death. Jason became very moody and sorrow. Once, Annabeth asked him for a copy of restoration plans, and the look on his face was so lifeless, it was almost as if he had died, not Leo.

As for Piper, just mentioning Leo set her off. The day the Romans left, she had quietly gone up to the Zeus cabin roof and cried her eyes out. The last time Annabeth had seen Piper like this was the day Piper found out she really didn't know Jason, but rather just Mist-manipulated memories.

But for every dark cloud, there is one with a silver lining, which came in the form of Nico di Angelo.

The son of Hades had acted very bright and chipper for the first time since his older sister Bianca's death. Annabeth had only known Nico for three minutes in his happy state, but when she saw him at Geryon's ranch, he had totally changed into an angry loner.

Nico whistled and walked with a swing in his step, but then he had gotten an Iris-message from Rachel Elizabeth Dare from Camp Jupiter.

Whatever Nico had learned over in California, he wasn't sharing. But his old personality was back, along with the potential prospect of a prophecy. Nico kept staring at the _Argo II_, as if he was sizing up how it would hold. Which only meant to Annabeth one thing: The ship would sail again, under a new prophecy. Annabeth could smell a prophecy coming the way a farmer can smell a rainstorm.

She wasn't anxious to share her thoughts with Jason or Piper, so she went to Percy. As she expected, he groaned and sighed.

"Well, what is the prophecy?" he had asked, clearly having given up.

Annabeth shook her head. "No clue. I'm hoping to speak to Reyna or Frank about my suspicions. I don't want to burden Jason and Piper with it, but I've seen things in my dreams.

"So have I," retorted Percy. "But what exactly have you seen, Wise Girl?"

Annabeth smirked. "Well, Seaweed Brain, I've seen Festus. There's two people on his back, but he seems to be landing at an island."

The color in Percy's face drained instantly. "Leo?" he whispered. "Was the other one a...a girl?"

Annabeth shoved him playfully. "Jason and Piper aren't here, so stop whispering. Yes, I think one of them was Leo, but I only saw silhouettes."

"It must all be connected. We need to tell Jake and Nyssa. They can put the _Argo II_ back together," Percy grinned. "Let's go!"

* * *

><p>Jake Mason was just leaving the dining pavilion after breakfast the next day when Percy and Annabeth had caught up with him. His eyes lit up when Annabeth mentioned the fact that Leo might be alive.<p>

By nightfall, Hephaestus' cabin had successfully begun to rebuild the _Argo II. _With all the ship's parts there, they just needed to reinstall it. Chiron had announced Annabeth's dream, and a cheer went up when he mentioned Leo being alive.

The entire camp set to work, and three days later, the ship was complete, this time with nine cabins.

Jake pushed sweat of his face. "It doesn't have a propulsion unit, so you'll need to have Leo build one when you find him. Nico told me you guys will probably need one, if his suspicions are true."

Nyssa nodded. "Again, we are not future-tellers, but I think you should head for the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. I believe that is where you will meet up with Leo."

Piper ran onboard, pulling Jason. No one had worked harder on the ship than the daughter of Aphrodite and the son of Jupiter. "Let's go, slowpokes!" called Piper. Everyone began to board, but Chiron galloped up.

"Heroes! You should wait until daybreak. That is when...the Romans will arrive, of course. You four, Jason, Piper, Annabeth, and Percy, will journey with the praetors, Reyna and Frank, as well as Hazel,...and Leo."

The following morning, the Romans arrived. Reyna hugged Annabeth and Piper. The praetor seemed excited about joining the crew of the _Argo II_. Hazel and Frank had assured Annabeth that they had left Camp Jupiter in the hands of centurions Leila and Dakota. Nico di Angelo promised to watch over Camp Half-Blood, but he kept staring at the ship with a grim expression.

They had set off on the ship, which was missing a front hull. Nyssa and Will Solace had said to leave it open and unfinished, as it was Leo's job to do.

Unfortunately, the front hull provided a large opening for monsters to attack the engine, so Jason, Percy, and Frank took turns guarding it. Occasionally, the small sea monster would slip in, and they'd have to stop and get it out.

Annabeth was personally worried about passing Florida and Miami. That is where the Sea of Monsters now was, and she had bad memories of that place. Reyna, however, seemed to enjoy watching the Gulf of Mexico pass beneath them.

"I like remembering how life used to be," Reyna had explained. "But I am grateful for what I now have, too."

On the one-week anniversary of Leo's epic explosion of Gaea, the crew had begun to lose hope of seeing Leo.

And then, that annoying son of Hephaestus had dropped out of the sky.

Jason had to go stop Coach Hedge from blowing up Leo and Festus, but had fallen into the bay. Truth, be told, Annabeth was worried that Leo really was dead. When she saw him, Annabeth had tried to identify Leo with Daedalus's laptop that Hazel had somehow retrieved from Tartarus (that girl had serious skills).

When Piper went to go smack Leo, Annabeth had taken in the view of the bronze dragon. She didn't see another rider, so she had quietly told Percy to go look at the dragon. She could get him to do anything for her with a quick kiss on the cheek and a soft voice.

Gods, she loved him.

After Leo told his tale, Annabeth remembered reading something about the child of Hephaestus Leo had mentioned. She also thought she saw a kid's silhouette on top of the building, but she hadn't seen any kid and convinced herself she was crazy.

'_But there's no such thing as crazy for a demigod_,' Annabeth reminded herself as she headed after the rest of the crew to hear the prophecy.

* * *

><p>All of this ran through Annabeth's head, particularly the 'crazy' part. She resorted to holding Percy's hand as they went to go listen to Coach Hedge's Iris-message.<p>

As per usual, Hedge's cabin looked like a child of Aphrodite's worst nightmare. After he had given his old cabin to Reyna, who had promptly used three cans of disinfectant spray trying to clean it, the war-crazed goat had taken his new cabin, the one built between Hazel's and Leo's, and made it look just the same as the old one.

In the middle of the room, an Iris-message was displayed prominently, with an impatient son of Hades on the other end.

"There you are," muttered Nico di Angelo. "Rachel has sent me an Iris-message; she and Ella have deciphered another prophecy. Here…"

Nico turned to someone standing beside him. "Butch! Can you connect it now?" The Iris-message shimmered and suddenly, the crew was viewing a grand temple.

Annabeth recognized as the Temple of Jupiter, or Jupiter Optimus Maximus. Inside, Rachel Elizabeth Dare stood beside a harpy with bright red feathers.

Rachel turned towards the message. "Guys! Great, here's the prophecy. Um...you want to write this down?"

Leo pulled out a pen and a yellow legal pad from his toolbelt and gestured to Rachel to go on.

"Right, okay." Rachel cleared her throat.

"_The Heroes of Olympus together again,_

_Seven becomes eight to defeat the Dark Man. _

_The Abyss is the one you fear most, _

_For it is the source from gods to ghosts. _

_Defeated foes fall under Punishment's curse, _

_The fall of the sun, the final verse."_

"Got it!" called Leo.

The Iris-message then shimmered and disappeared.


	4. Chapter 4- Orpheus, the Master Musician

ANNABETH

**SILENCE FELL IN HEDGE'S CABIN.** All Rachel just did was confirm Annabeth's fears of an unbeatable foe and another prophecy. And judging from the looks on her friends' faces, they had all had similar fears.

"Wow," Piper managed. "I guess it's official."

"Yeah!" crowed Leo. "It's not us! It's the Heroes of Olympus' problem now."

Apparently, it had slipped over the boys' heads.

Percy grinned. "Now we just have to find these guys and tell them to save the world. I've taken my turn several times. Jason, do you remember these guys? How do we find them?"

Annabeth exchanged glances with Piper, Reyna, and Hazel. '_Boys._'

Jason seemed to be thinking. "I remember something out a book I read at Camp Jupiter. They might be in the Underworld. But children of Zeus cannot go into the Underworld for long. It's like being in the air for a child of Poseidon. Or going by sea for children of Hades.

Frank stepped forward. "Guys, knock it off. We're missing the obvious."

'_Finally.'_ thought Annabeth. '_Someone with sense.'_

Of course, Frank proved her wrong. "We can go through Central Park rather than going to Los Angeles."

"Oh my gods!" exclaimed Reyna. "_We_ are the Heroes of Olympus. All eight of us!"

The boys began shaking their feet and glancing everywhere. "Yeah, we knew that," exclaimed Percy.

Hazel shook her head. "So, we are the Heroes of Olympus. Reyna must be the eighth member, but who's the Dark Man?"

Annabeth tried to think, but all that came to mind was the landscape outside. "Why are we heading north, back to New York?"

Leo tried to look modest, but Annabeth could tell he was gloating on the inside. "Hephaestus said that once you guys found me, we should head to Central Park."

Jason looked puzzled. "What's in Central Park?"

"Dunno," grinned Leo. "But Hephaestus said it would take all of us to face the guardian of...uh...something Annabeth needs."

All eyes turned to Annabeth, but she had no clue about what could possibly in Central Park that she could need.

Suddenly, Festus began to squeak from upstairs. That meant they were close to New York.

"Okay, everybody!" announced Leo over the loudspeaker. "This is your captain speaking. We are approaching Central Park, New York. All ashore that's going ashore."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Dude, you are right next to us."

"But it's cool to do it like this," laughed Leo.

Coach Hedge straightened his baseball cap. "I'll cover you cupcakes with the ballistae. Just be back quick, or I'll start shooting anyway."

* * *

><p>Annabeth expected an ambush, an angry god, or perhaps a vengeful spirit. All she got was a quiet morning in the middle of the park.<p>

Which meant they were hiding.

The others had no such qualms. Jason held hands with Piper as they strolled in front of the group. Piper seemed to be pointing out the various trees and wildlife. Meanwhile, Leo and Reyna seemed to be talking about various automatons and weapons in Spanish. Those two definitely needed to get together. Frank and Hazel seemed to be reading a map, and every so often they would actually look at the map. As for Percy, he held Annabeth's hand, but he too kept looking around for a fight.

He so got her.

Finally, they arrived a cluster of boulders. There didn't seem to be anything else there, but Hazel and Percy backed up anxiously.

"That's the Door of Orpheus," murmured Percy. "A path directly to the Underworld."

"That's the last place I'd want to go," muttered Hazel. "Unfortunately, that's the probably where we need to go."

Jason stepped away. "Children of Zeus really should avoid going into the Underworld."

Annabeth shook her head. "I don't think we're going into…" She stopped, for suddenly a man with a lyre slung over his back had appeared.

"Who are you?" asked Piper. "I mean, which guy from Greek mythology?"

The man slung the lyre off his back and began to play. Suddenly, the rocks around him began to move with a spring in each bounce.

"Have you not figured it out? I am Orpheus, son of Apollo." The man shook his head. "So, it is true. My master told me of four Greeks, four Romans, four boys, four girls traveling together, but I could not believe it until I saw it."

Orpheus looked at each person, from Piper to Jason to Leo to Reyna to Percy to Hazel to Frank and finally to Annabeth. He fixed his eyes on Annabeth and watched her for a full minute.

"If it isn't the child of Athena who found the Athena Parthenos. My new...master was very interested in you. You know that once you figure out my master's identity, there won't be a prayer for you. You cannot stand against him." Orpheus chuckled to himself, apparently imagining the eight demigods, the two camps, and Olympus standing against his master.

"I will offer you this free advice. The gods will soon be thrown out of whack. My master has plans, particularly for Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. The others will also crumble. Even if you found the Golden Omega, it would be powerless with those three where we have them currently."

Percy stepped forward, Riptide already uncapped. "What do you mean by 'where we have them currently?'"

Orpheus glanced over at Percy, clearly annoyed. Orpheus began to sing and strum his lyre. Suddenly, the rocks moved and swatted Riptide away.

"I grow tired of you, son of Poseidon," snarled the musician. "I now have orders to kill you; kill all of you."

Jason and Hazel moved in with swords drawn, but Orpheus' rocks simply began pelting the two of them. Leo drew two hammers and set them ablaze, but all he could do was smash the rocks that began to instantly reform.

Frank and Reyna drew weapons, but arrows and javelins did nothing against the enchanted rocks. Then, Piper suddenly began to sing. And when Piper began her singing, the rocks slowed down its attacks.

"Good job, Piper!" yelled Annabeth. Then she tackled Jason behind a tree, who managed to catch a glimpse of a large rock that would have smashed him.

"Thanks, Annabeth," gasped Jason. "But what about the Door of Orpheus. I read a legend that if Orpheus is locked back into the Door of Orpheus, his soul will be confined to Hades forever.

Annabeth nodded. "But you saw how he avoided the rocks. Maybe Hazel can manipulate the Mist. Piper can lure him there. The rest of us jump on him, force him down. Spread the word."

Percy, Frank, Reyna, and Leo were ready to go, and Piper and Hazel agreed to trick Orpheus. The plan was going down, with Orpheus going down to the Underworld.

The rocks shifted back what seemed like ten feet. Piper's singing seemed stronger.

Orpheus began to play wildly, with the rocks shooting off in every direction, but Piper's singing kept the rocks under control. Slowly, the master musician moved towards Piper.

"Now!" screamed Leo.

Instantly, Jason, Leo, Annabeth, Percy, Frank, and Reyna tackled Orpheus just as Hazel dropped the illusion. The rocks weren't ten feet away, they were ten inches.

Piper suddenly changed her tune. Now, it was a Nirvana tune, causing the boulders to form a triangular crevice. The six demigods on Orpheus began to push. He clearly was trying to resist, but finally, Annabeth shoved Orpheus down the hole.

Black lightning flashed from the rocks as they closed. Orpheus began to scream as the rocks closed. The last Annabeth could see, his body became ghostly and pale. He yelled and tried to pluck his lyre, but it disintegrated.

* * *

><p>Back on the ship, the ballista was smoking. Hedge was standing at the rail, hollering at Central Park and the Door of Orpheus, making rude satyr gestures.<p>

Jason grinned. "You saved the day again, Annabeth. Great plan."

The others also began to praise her, but Annabeth was focused on Orpheus' words.

"Anybody know what the Golden Omega is?" asked Annabeth.

Reyna looked carefully at Annabeth. "It's a legend from Roman times. Apparently, it can siphon a god's power, either from the god himself, or from the god's favorite child. But it was lost after the fall of Rome."

Percy looked confused. "Then why did Orpheus mention it?"

Leo shook his head. "Well, I guess we're going treasure-hunting. Annabeth, Hazel, Frank, and Jason, you guys can see if you can follow the clues. Reyna, Percy, and Piper, we are going to find the parts of the propulsion unit. Ready, break!"


	5. Chapter 5- How I Met Your Brother

JASON

**AS JASON WATCHED LEO LEAD THE PROPULSION TEAM** away down the hall, he found himself next to Hazel Levesque.

Hazel had always struck him as mysterious. He had vouched for her when Nico di Angelo brought her to Camp Jupiter last September, allowing her to join the Fifth Cohort, yet he suspected there was more to her past, but since Juno had swiped him, he hadn't had much time to think about it.

Then, Hazel developed her Mist control. Now, she was magical and mysterious on top of being back from the Underworld. Yeah, Jason definitely didn't want to get on her bad side...again.

His thoughts were interrupted by Hazel herself.

"So, Jason," she began. "I know we haven't really talked since, you know, Juno kidnapped you."

Jason chuckled. "Yeah, that kind of eats up a lot of time."

"But I do want to know one thing," admitted Hazel. "I'm planning to ask Percy, since he's the one who knew Nico at Camp Half-Blood. What I want to know is...how did you meet Nico at Camp Jupiter?"

Jason thought back to last July, when he'd first laid eyes on Nico di Angelo. In an effort to be cool, he took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on, real slow-like. "Buckle up, girl. This one's a doozy."

"Gods," laughed Hazel. "Are you trying to be cool. Please don't do that. You're sounding like Leo."

"Fine," sighed Jason. "If you wanna take all the fun out of the story. It kind of began last July."

* * *

><p>Jason recalled last July. He remembered the events leading up to the son of Hades' arrival.<p>

Last July, the camp had been preparing for the final stages of the Titan War. Jason was still a centurion, yet the camp looked to him and Reyna to keep Rome alive.

Reyna walked into the praetor's office, summoning Jason, Octavian, and Dakota. The worry lines around her face seemed to expand a mile in just ten seconds.

"Right," she murmured. "Saturn is still out east, near Long Island, New York for some reason. He might be meeting up with Typhon, who's prison we inspected last summer, Jason, remember?"

Jason nodded. A freak series of events in the Mount St. Helens area forced Jason and Reyna to investigate...the day it blew up. If he wasn't 100% sure of himself, he would have sworn he saw a black-haired boy in an orange t-shirt flying away from the wreckage, perhaps unconscious.

"I'm thinking we lead an assault on Mount Orthys," continued Reyna. "We destroy Saturn's palace while he out east. I'm sure he will have left some Titans to guard it, but we have the might of the legion!"

Octavian shook his head. "I don't know, praetor. Do you really think the destruction of Saturn's throne will be enough to throw him back to the abyss?"

Reyna's expression tightened. "We have no other choice. There is no one out there but us. I fear that once we destroy the palace, even that won't be enough. We then can go east to meet Saturn and defeat him. While the gods have always forbidden it, we will have to go to New York, specifically Manhattan."

Octavian reluctantly nodded. "I sense that is where the final showdown with Saturn will occur, but I don't know why he's targeting New York. I also cannot see anyone from the camp in the vision, only blurry shapes colored orange."

Dakota spoke up. "Well, we can't just sit around, pretending everything is all right, until Saturn arrives in California."

Suddenly, Leila from the Fourth Cohort came in, fresh from sentry duty.

"Centurions! Praetor!" gasped Leila. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Mike Kahale and I have seen something outside the tunnel. Two figures, one instructing the other to come towards us."

Reyna stood. "Jason, follow me. We will investigate. Octavian and Dakota, you keep planning the invasion."

Jason hurried after Reyna, straightening his armor. It was good Roman technique to show outsiders that legionnaires always kept up appearances.

At the gates, Mike Kahale was holding up a boy, about maybe twelve. He had dark eyes, pale olive skin, black clothes, and a Stygian Iron sword. A silver skull ring was around a finger, and Jason could tell that if this kid wanted to, he could take them all out, no problem.

The boy said nothing, but his eyes met Jason's. They began scanning all over Jason, almost as if they were...comparing.

Reyna approached the boy. "Who are you?"

The boy didn't move his gaze from Jason. "My name is Nico di Angelo. I am a son of Ha-Pluto."

The legionnaires tensed. It was a well-known fact that children of Pluto were considered bad luck. And the last thing the legion needed now, right before the showdown at Saturn's place, was bad luck.

Jason stepped forward. "I suppose we'll need to give him a cohort. First, he needs to go to Octavian."

"No," interrupted Nico. "I have a letter from my father. He wants me to be something called 'Ambassador of Pluto'".

"A cohort, though," muttered Jason. "If you are going to fight in the Titan War, you need to be under an officer. That's what a cohort is for."

Nico muttered something under his breath, and Jason was just starting to think about how he was going to take down the kid when Octavian walked up.

Octavian ran his eyes all over Nico, and scoffed. "He's pathetic. He isn't going to join this legion."

Suddenly, a skeleton erupted out of the ground. No- two skeletons. One grabbed Octavian by his collar, and the other pointed a Combat MG right at the augur's chest.

There was deadly silence.

Finally, Octavian stammered, "You know what, you can join. With this firepower added to the legion, we can crush Saturn. The armies of the dead will be our saving grace."

For the first time, Nico looked confused. "Saturn?"

Octavian rolled his eyes. He turned and started demanding that Reyna inform Nico about the Titan War, but Jason was certain this guy knew exactly what Octavian was talking about. Out of the corner of his eye, Jason watch Nico take out a scroll. He ran a finger down the page before stuffing in his pocket.

"Oh, Saturn," Nico exclaimed. "Lord of Time, right?"

Octavian lifted an eyebrow. "That's in his Greek description, but yes, same Titan."

Jason saw Nico shift a little when Octavian said the word '_Greek_'.

"You know what?" interrupted Jason. "I'll give Nico a tour and get him up to speed. We'll need all the help we can get for the invasion."

Everyone slowly filed away, leaving Jason alone with Nico.

Nico's face went even paler, if that was possible, but he calmly said, "What invasion?"

Jason patiently explained what Camp Jupiter was planning in early-August, and Nico began muttering to himself again. "Attack on Orthys, combined with defense of Olympus should get through if the two sides don't realize…"

"Uh, dude," Jason said, tapping the son of Pluto on the shoulder. "What do mean 'two sides?' And what do you mean by 'Olympus'? No Roman demigod knows where Olympus is."

Nico smiled. "I...uh...heard it from a ghost. But you can't go to Olympus. Or anywhere near New York."

Jason eyes dropped to Nico's jeans, where a Statue of Liberty keychain was poking out of the top of his pocket. Nico quickly covered it.

"Yeah, I've been there," he admitted. "But Olympus isn't there. I've looked. Just focus on conquering Orthys."

He sounded so frantic that Jason nodded in agreement.

Jason led Nico through the camp and gave him a bunk in the Fifth Cohort, but the following morning he was gone. Just up and disappeared.

The Ambassador of Pluto reappeared a week before the invasion was scheduled to go down, strangely smelling like a Greek sewer, according to the Lares. He appeared out of the shadows behind Jason just as he was in the armory.

"Nico?" hissed Jason. "You just disappeared. We thought you were going to help us in the invasion."

Nico shook his head. His throat had red marks around it, like someone had grabbed and threatened him. His eyes were bloodshot, yet alert. "I have other business. You guys can do this. Just stay west."

Just then, Reyna walked into armory, catching sight of Nico.

"Nico di Angelo?" asked a very puzzled Reyna. "How...where…?"

Nico smirked, then turned back to Jason. "Just beware of Krios. Talk about a hard-head. Hope you and he can ram-things out."

Then he faded into the shadows.

Jason turned to Reyna, still waiting for an explanation.

Jason half-grinned. "Long story."

* * *

><p>Jason finished his story, staring at the sea.<p>

"I never saw Nico again before Juno kidnapped me and I met Piper and Leo," he told Hazel. "But thanks to him, Hades helped the Greeks defend Olympus, I found out how to beat Krios and hold off Koios."

Hazel nodded. "I just wanted to know how he was before I met him, you know?"

Jason looked at her. "I know what that's like. My sister Thalia, I've always wanted to know what she was like before becoming lieutenant of Artemis."

Hazel gave him a Nico-like smirk. "All roads go through Percy Jackson. He knew Thalia and Nico before and after."

Just then, Annabeth and Frank stumbled down the hall, carrying loads of books, scrolls, and Daedalus's laptop.

"Please tell me we don't have to go through all that," groaned Jason. "Cause I think I have one of Leo's fake excuse notes somewhere."

"No need," laughed the daughter of Athena. "We've already looked. Frank and I found the next place to visit, the location of the Twelve Crystals, each one corresponding to a different Olympian god. Dionysus is subbed out for Bellona, so its Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, Bellona, and Hestia. The crystals power the Golden Omega, and I've located them."

"Where?" asked Hazel, eyes gleaming.

Frank grinned. "Anybody know how to play the didgeridoo?"


	6. Chapter 6- Kindred Crystals

JASON

**THE NEXT DAY, **the _Argo II_ touched down in Sydney, Australia. Thanks to Leo's new rocket propulsion unit, the ship could fly from New York to Sydney in twelve hours. But according to Annabeth, even that might not be enough, as the crew would be traveling all over the world for the next few months. And they had to avoid traveling at night, for some reason Leo wouldn't explain.

Leo gave the all-clear signal and opened the doors, letting out seven extremely woozy demigods. Hazel ran to the rail and promptly threw up, with Percy and Piper joining her. Reyna, Jason, and Annabeth managed to keep their lunch down, but Frank began a mixture of odd transformations, from a bulldog to a badger to a penguin to a mouse, and finally back to normal.

"Ok, Team Demigod!" Leo chattered excitedly through the intercom. "We are in beautiful Sydney, Australia today. The temperature is a beautiful 72 degrees today, as the famous Sydney Opera House is just down the street, and the outback is just a few miles west."

Jason had to avoid rolling his eyes before answering. "I think we should send Annabeth to find the Crystals. Hazel, too, because of her underground senses. I'll go as well, in case there's a guardian, which considering our luck, there probably will be."

Piper nodded, then turned her attention towards the Sydney Opera House. "There's a lot of ruckus coming from the Opera House. Maybe we should send a team there. I can go."

Frank and Leo also agreed to go, leaving Percy and Reyna onboard with Coach Hedge.

"We'll watch the ship," Reyna said. "Two ballistae fires means that the ship is under heavy attack.

"Great," Jason agreed. "Let's meet back here about 4. Then we can still make significant headway to out to our next stop." Then he turned to Hazel and Annabeth.

"Let's go digging."

* * *

><p>The outback looked about as dangerous as a pillow on sight. But if you got closer, you would see it was far worse than a pillow, or a death match at that.<p>

Red rocks and boulders were perched on top of what looked like short mountains. The air was extremely dusty, and there was no water for miles. Animals such as snakes and lizards occasionally came past, but none bothered them. Once, Jason spotted a kangaroo, but it was far away. The place seemed to be whispering '_Go back. You won't survive. Leave before it is too late.'_

Annabeth had no such qualms. She briskly walked ahead of Jason and Hazel, looking at an old faded map every so often. The girl had been to Tartarus and back. Nothing in the mortal world could scare her, except perhaps Leo being serious. Now that was scary.

Hazel walked beside Jason, but he could tell her mind was a world away, trying to imagine life without the weight of the fate of the world on her shoulders, and with Nico di Angelo.

Jason had done his best retell the story of how he met Nico, but he wasn't sure he remembered it all. And frankly, he didn't want to. That kid was downright scary if you just happened to see him on the street.

Jason looked at the landscape, trying to be interested, but the only thing that would make it interesting would be if Piper was next to him, talking about it.

But right now, they had to find the Crystal's location. Jason could understand why it would be here. Australia had never been the focus of Western civilization, so it was the perfect place to hide the pieces of the most powerful weapon ever created. Evil minions would search in Europe or America, the places where the gods were strong. Who would think to search the outback?

Fortunately, Annabeth did. The daughter of Athena was the smartest person Jason knew. Unfortunately, if Annabeth had thought to look here, so would someone else.

Years ago at Camp Jupiter, he had learned that if you thought of something, it was only a matter of time before your enemy did too.

Jason was aroused from his thoughts by bumping into Annabeth, who had stopped.

"Here," she announced. "The Thirteen Crystals. It's unmarked on the ground, but maps have led me to believe they are in this general vicinity."

Hazel's brow furrowed. "I thought you said there were only twelve crystals. Why thirteen?"

"The gods Hades and Bellona," answered Annabeth. "If we count them, its twelve: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, Bellona, and Hades."

Hazel spread her hands. "I can sense something ancient and powerful beneath the surface," she said. "But I'll need time. They are quite deep. Also, I don't think we are alone."

She turned west, further along the path. If the hot sun weren't on his back, frying his head like a egg, Jason would have sworn he saw a kid digging in the path. Then the sun went behind some clouds and the strange kid hallucination vanished.

He turned toward the girls, and based on their confused looks, they had seen the kid too. Were they all hallucinating? It didn't seem likely.

Jason quickly changed the subject. "So, the crystals. Can you find them?"

Hazel nodded. "Just give me a few minutes...or hours."

It was long, tedious work. Jason and Annabeth had to dig through the dry dirt, desperately feeling around for anything. After one hour, they had only found two crystals. Two hours after that, they had seven. Finally, Hazel broke apart the entire area, revealing six glimmering objects embedded in the bedrock.

The crystals were heavy, and it was nearing two. At the rate they were going, they wouldn't be able to get the heavy crystals back to the _Argo II_ in time for the 4 o clock deadline.

Annabeth initated a break system. Every five hundred feet or so, two people would hold up the bag while the third person rested. Even with the system, it was almost eight before the reached the _Argo II_.

Percy stood with his back to them on the deck. "...seems as if something's got them. I'll go investigate."

"Hey, Jackson," yelled Jason. "We're back."

Reyna and Percy came down the gangplank, and together the five demigods lifted the huge bag full of dangerous crystals into the mess hall, where all eight demigods could work on figuring out the next step.

Jason grabbed a grape Fanta out of the mess hall, and headed to the lounge. He threw himself into a chair by the window and took a sip. Perfect. Well, almost, if Piper were here.

All of Jason's concerns came out of Annabeth's mouth. "Where's Piper, Leo, and Frank?"

Percy and Reyna exchanged nervous glances.

Finally, Reyna spoke up. "We've got no clue. Hedge has been watching the Sydney Opera House in the crow's nest, but he hasn't seen anything."

As if on cue, something landed on the deck above. Frank ran into the lounge, out of breath.

"Frank?" asked Hazel, clearly worried. "What's wrong? Where are Piper and Leo?"

Frank managed to tell them between gasps of air. "Sydney Opera House."

Everyone ran for the stairs, but Jason leapt out the window, and realized that Reyna was hanging onto his arm.

"Let's go," she said grimly.

The Opera House was dark, and it appeared to be closed. But Jason urged the winds more intently, and zoomed inside. There was a small light, perhaps from one of Leo's fires, coming from backstage. Faster than lightning, he raced back there.

Jason and Reyna found Piper and Leo sitting around a bonfire, along with someone. A boy of about seventeen sat on the other side of the campfire, quietly taking note of Jason. Instantly, something tugged at Jason's mind, something from the outback, but he brushed it aside and sat down beside Piper.

Percy, Annabeth, Hazel, and Frank came up the steps. Annabeth instantly stared at the kid, and Jason noticed that Leo was doing the same. Apparently, neither could come up with whatever they were thinking, so they sat.

"Greetings, demigods of the _Argo II._ I'm Ryker Dalton. Care to take a seat?"

* * *

><p>Jason didn't trust the kid one bit.<p>

Ryker seemed a little too perfect. He seemed tough, like he'd grown up on the streets, moved around a lot, before he got it in his head that monsters wouldn't be in a place like Australia. Jason could relate to this guy, even if he didn't trust him.

Piper hung on to his every word, and Jason was getting a little jealous. Percy was politely listening, but every so often his eyes would flicker over to Annabeth. Leo was downright envious, as he tried to watch Reyna the entire time. Hazel didn't seem to have any problem with the guy, but even Frank was shooting daggers with his eyes at Ryker.

"Jason?" Piper tugged at his arm.

"What?" Jason hadn't even realized that Ryker was addressing him.

"I asked what you guys were doing here in Sydney. I thought all the action was in America. Why here?"

Piper started to answer, but Jason cut her off. "Just a little break, you know. Can't save the world all the time."

Percy and Leo nodded. Frank stood, as if he was telling everyone it was time to go. The girls all looked at Jason imploringly, but Jason knew they had to get out of there.

Then, behind them, the _Argo II _shot a ballista high into the air. The signal from Hedge that something was wrong.

"Gee, look at the time," interrupted Leo. "Thanks ever so much, Ryker, goodbye."

Leo ran for the ship as fast he could, and he dragged Reyna off with him. Percy and Annabeth left too, but it seemed like Percy was trying to keep Annabeth from staying. Frank turned into an eagle, and seized Hazel in his talons. Finally, Jason wrapped his arm around Piper and soared through the window, trying to shake the feeling that Ryker watched their every move the way soldiers scan a battlefield before war.


	7. Chapter 7- Voicing Concerns

HAZEL

**HAZEL DIDN'T LIKE HANGING ONTO HER BOYFRIEND'S EAGLE FEET,** flying through the air.

Sure, Frank's powers were amazing. They had saved everyone countless times. But she thought it was a little weird, even by demigod standards.

Then there was Ryker. He was really cool. He had actually grown up on the streets, training himself to fight. If she didn't like Frank, she might have had a little crush on him.

Hazel pushed the thought aside as Frank descended towards the _Argo II_. She liked Frank Zhang, not Ryker Dalton.

She noticed that all the boys were anxious to leave. Piper had watched Ryker with rapt attention, and Jason had been very eager to leave. Leo wanted to get out of there because Reyna liked him, no doubt. Percy was the same with Annabeth. The boys were all very envious of Ryker, and wanted to leave before the girls began to fawn all over him.

A jolt in her feet sent her back to the present.

Coach Hedge stepped away from the ballista and glowered at Hazel.

"Levesque! Your freaky gems downstairs are threatening to blow up! Fix it! Cause all I can do is smash it."

Hazel knew the gods didn't like to be contained. Any Mist manipulation around the bag or trying to calm it wouldn't help. It looked like…

"Ok, Coach," Hazel sighed. "Go ahead and smash."

Hedge looked like he had just discovered his surprise party.

"You got it." He grabbed his bat and headed down the stairs, whistling the tune of '_Joy to the World, let's smash some stuff.'_

Jason landed with Piper on the quarterdeck. He looked like he needed some rest. But Hazel knew that some important stuff needed to be said.

"Mess hall, now." she managed.

* * *

><p>The eight demigods sat down to dinner, but only Percy and Frank were eating. That didn't surprise Hazel. On the trip to Alaska, the boys had eaten their weight three times over.<p>

Hazel felt like she should speak first, since she called the meeting.

"I guess we need to discuss what happened in Central Park and Sydney," she said. "So what did happen?"

Jason and Percy began discussing Orpheus at length, mostly the part about where the musician had mentioned the Big Three.

Hazel was also worried. Her father, Hades/Pluto, was Lord of the Dead. She never tried to summon spirits before, but she guessed they wouldn't work now. If her dad had been kidnapped, she felt like she should save him.

Finally, Leo changed the subject to Sydney.

"We fought some of those ghostly showboats in the Opera House," he grinned. "But I don't think they'll stay down. They were quite angry as Beauty Queen here and I smacked them, and the Lord of the Eagles right here threw their remains into the ocean."

Hazel noticed that Frank had turned bright red.

"But after we were finished," interrupted Piper. "We met Ryker. He told us all about himself, and Leo asked him if he knew anything about the Golden Omega. I think he was lying. He knew something, he just didn't want to tell us."

Hazel didn't want to induce paranoia, considering the night Percy and Leo watched that zombie movie, and walked around the next morning yelling about conspiracies. But she had to raise the subject of the tattoo.

"Did you guys see his forearm?" she questioned. "It wasn't an SPQR tattoo. It was dark, like a black hole."

Annabeth nodded. "When I met Daedalus, we saw a murderer's brand on his neck for his nephew, Perdix. This wasn't a brand. It was more like an...enchantment. Like it was placed there for a reason, similar to the Roman tattoos."

Self-consciously, Hazel, Frank, Percy, Reyna, and Jason all looked at their forearms. Each one had a different tattoo, representing their godly parent. They also had different numbers of stripes for years. Jason had twelve over an eagle. Reyna had four lines over a torch and sword. Frank had one over an image of crossed spears. Percy had one over a trident. Hazel had one over a glyph.

Leo, Piper, and Annabeth began looking at the various tattoos. Annabeth began drawing something on a pad, while Leo stared out the window, as if trying to remember something.

Hazel couldn't shake the feeling that Ryker was unique. He wasn't like other demigods. And what was he doing Sydney? That story about escaping to Australia seemed phony to Hazel, but she kept quiet. After all, the others had unreal backstories, and she believed them.

Jason had been abandoned by his mom, forced by Juno to save her. Percy had faced almost every Greek myth there was. Frank's whole family emigrated around the globe, honing that shapshifting power. Leo had been tricked by Gaea into burning down his mother's warehouse. Piper was a Hollywood kid who'd stolen anything she had the money to buy. Reyna had vaporized her father and kidnapped by pirates. Annabeth had lived by herself for two weeks, along with Thalia and Luke, according to her. And Hazel? She had died trying to stop Gaea, who'd taken over her mother, and come back.

Finally, Reyna broke the silence. "We need to find the four pieces of the Golden Omega. But the gods scattered them all over the world, disguising the pieces into the geographical location. Any ideas?"

Annabeth put down her sketch pad, and Hazel could see that she had drawn Ryker at the Opera House, Orpheus in Manhattan, and ten possible locations with question marks. She obviously had some idea about where to look.

Sure enough, Annabeth did. "We should start here," she pointed. On her map of the world, she was pointing at London, England.

"I've been digging for clues on Daedalus' laptop, and I think London is where we should head first. Specifically, the British Museum. Mortals might've found a piece long ago and are keeping it in the museum."

Jason nodded. "It's worth a shot. The gods will probably have defenses around it, and the with that creepy darkness also racing to get there, we should send five or six people. I can volunteer to go."

Annabeth collected her papers and stood up. "I'll go too, and Seaweed Brain, you are going as well." She yanked Percy to his feet just as he was biting into a fifth slice of pizza.

"Hey! You don't need to yank. I was going to volunteer."

Frank raised his hand. "I'll venture out as well. Hazel, you in?"

Hazel grinned. "I was hoping you would go. Of course I'm going. That's five, though. Do we need a sixth?"

Annabeth solemnly nodded. "Jason, Percy, and Hazel are children of the Big Three. They have a powerful scent. We're going to attract a ton of monsters, cause the gods used to live in England. We'll need all the help we can get."

Piper stood. "I can go. I'll hold off the monsters with my charmspeak and cover us while we go. That means Leo and Reyna will have to hold down the ship till we get back."

It might have been Hazel's imagination, but she thought she saw Leo and Reyna blush slightly when Piper said they were going to be alone on board.

For a few minutes, the only sound was a few birds cawing in the clear, night sky, the sound of Coach Hedge having a clinic downstairs in the stables, and the waves lapping the still hull of the _Argo II_.

To Hazel, it felt like they were just a normal group of teenagers, eating dinner, and having fun. While she would have felt embarrassed to say it aloud, she enjoyed the time the gang had spent on the ship, on the run from the Romans and the impending war from the Greeks.

Now Reyna had joined the crew, and Hazel felt like they were all one, big happy family. When Hazel had heard that the ship would sail again, she was excited. Excited to see Percy, Piper, Annabeth, Leo, Jason, and the rest of the crew together on board their home. Of course, she could have done without the weight of the fate of the world on their shoulders, but high stakes were kind of exciting.

But Percy went and ruined the perfect evening with more talk of the Big Three.

"What I don't get is," he began. "Is why our powers are functioning normally? If Poseidon and Zeus and Hades have been captured, why haven't we been affected?"

Hazel had a flashback to when they were being attacked by Sciron the bandit's giant sea turtle. After Leo had gotten the ship into the strait, Piper had said, "'We're safe.'"

The one phrase a demigod should never say. Percy had just uttered a close second in the category of 'Things Demigods Should Never Say'.

But to her surprise, Hazel didn't feel like anything had happened. Maybe they were going to be alright.

Reyna shook her head. "Maybe I can talk to some people back home for clues on what happened to the gods. I can get some drachmas from the coach. The rest of you guys should get ready for London."

She got up and headed out of the mess hall, going to find Hedge. Meanwhile, Leo took a look at his portable navigation device.

"It'll take us all day tomorrow to travel to London, and then maybe you'll have the afternoon to search. We'll have to put down in Cairo, Egypt to refuel to propulsion unit, so the Museum Team, you guys will have about two hours before dark."

Then, Piper phrased a question that had been on everyone's mind.

"Leo?" she asked calmly. "Why can't we travel at night? It's valuable time. Why can't we travel?"

Leo sighed and put down his bowl of ice cream. "Hephaestus told me that we should avoid traveling at night. For one thing, most monsters are stronger at night. But the real reason is the lady of the night, Nyx, is helping the new enemy we're trying to stop. I've racked my brain, but I don't know why, just that that's what he told me."

Hazel didn't have a clue either, but she caught sight of Percy and Annabeth having a silent conversation. She would have to ask those guys later.

Just then, Coach Hedge came up into the mess hall. "Ok, cupcakes. Lights out in ten. We've a long day tomorrow, and you can't fight while you're sleeping!"

The gang slowly filed out and went to their separate cabins.

After Hazel climbed into bed, she replayed everything since Leo's reappearance. Everything pointed towards one thing, one foe, one unstoppable enemy.

Hazel knew she had to tell the others. They deserved to know what they were up against, even if it was hopeless.

But first things first. First thing was sleep.

Hazel closed her eyes, awaiting horrible dreams, yet for the first time since Nico brought her back, she had a blissful, clear, nightmare-free slumber.


	8. Chapter 8- Demigod Speed Date

HAZEL

**WHEN HAZEL AWOKE THE NEXT MORNING, **she was ready for whatever the Fates decided Hazel Levesque would face today.

Usually when Hazel woke, she would shower, grab a beignet from the mess hall and go to Piper's room. Piper, Annabeth, and Reyna were already there today, and the girls sat around talking until sunrise about the boys, the quest, and life in general.

What Hazel really wanted, though, was a day off today. And it looked like she might get it. She was planning to get Frank and go into town when Leo stopped at Cairo. She had confided this to the other girls, but Piper and Reyna weren't sure.

"Leo might be stopping for only five minutes," Reyna had said. "If you want to go to Cairo, you'll have to speed date or something."

Piper smirked at Hazel's confusion. "I tried a speed date with Jason in Rome, but Percy and the fight with the giants kind of ruined it. If you want a speed date, plan everything ahead of time. It helps to know the area."

So Hazel had borrowed Annabeth's supercomputer, Daedalus' laptop. She was trying to get a view on Cairo, and the market place, perhaps a restaurant, and then a movie theater.

That's what she was doing when Leo sounded the alarm bells.

Hazel didn't go upstairs, thinking her friends would handle it. She had to plan out this speed date before they reached Cairo. They were already at the Indian Ocean. The people on duty could take care of it. But she was sorely mistaken. Reyna burst into her cabin, covered in seawater and scratches.

"Where've you been?" gasped the daughter of Bellona. "We're under attack by some sea monster that radiates...well, death!"

Hazel sprang to her feet, grabbing her armor and her _spatha._ Reyna explained what had happened up on deck. Apparently, some sea monster attacked the _Argo II_, which wasn't exactly breaking news, but it knocked Percy out in ten seconds, and used Jason to swat Leo off the deck and into the ocean.

Hazel surveyed the scene up on the quarterdeck. Percy was lying, unmoving, at the base of the mast. Annabeth was bent over him, trying to tend to his wounds. Leo was coughing and spluttering, completely drenched, and had a thing of seaweed wrapped around his head like a bandanna or laurel wreath. Jason had taken over the majority of the fight with the strange shark-like monster, while Frank was trying to attack from the sea.

Piper, who'd been manning one of the ballista along with Coach Hedge, turned to greet Hazel and Reyna.

"Hazel! Where have you been?" Hazel didn't really hear what Piper said after that because her attention was focused on the giant shark creature.

It did radiate the Underworld. But why? Hades or Pluto, whatever, was the Lord of the Dead, not the sea. That was Poseidon. Why was this shark acting like a servant of Hades? Then, a scene from the meeting last night floated back into her brain.

_Why haven't we been affected?_ Percy had asked. Hazel wondered if this attack was the Fates' way of answering the son of Poseidon's question.

This thing had targeted Percy first, as he was a child of the Lord of the Sea. Then it turned to Jason, Leo, and Reyna. It moved with stealth. That was a characteristic of Hades. Poseidon's nature was attack head on with brute force.

Hazel, without saying a word, leapt over the railing and landed on the shark's back. Her Imperial gold _spatha_ cut right through the shark's dorsal fin, and it howled. It tried to roll, throw her off, perhaps into its teeth. But Hazel held on for dear life, hoping a miracle would come.

Above her, Leo had seized two grenades. Behind him, he shouted, "Jason, get ready to lift off!" The ship rose a little just as Leo chucked grenade one at Hazel and the shark.

The explosion was imminent, loud, and...buttery? Leo had thrown the buttered popcorn grenade at the shark, which had been so thrown off by the explosion that its back arched and tossed Hazel onto the deck. And not a moment too soon, as Jason called down a lightning strike that pierced Hazel's ears with a deafening blow.

Piper and Frank knelt over her. Frank seemed to be feeling her forehead, questioning whether or not she was okay. Piper was calmly talking to her, trying to trickle some nectar into her mouth. Hazel appreciated her concern, but the shark didn't seem to be leaving yet. It looked pretty hopeless, right up until…

"Percy!" shouted Annabeth from across the deck. Percy had finally woken up, but he looked like he was about to crash again. Annabeth guided him across the deck, to where the shark was fighting Leo, who was ranting on about the broken oars.

Percy muttered something to the shark, which didn't look eager to leave. But then, the weirdest thing happened. Where Hazel had stabbed it, a glowing black skull imposed on a diamond appeared. A blue green trident appeared on its gills. The shark was literally pulled apart, roaring as its ashes scattered into the sea.

"Great," mumbled Percy. And he fell face-first into the ocean.

* * *

><p>After Frank rescued Percy from the ocean, Hazel went back to planning their speed date. She was totally ready an hour before they landed in Cairo.<p>

Leo and Jason went into town to find a hardware store, so Hazel and Frank slipped off the ship.

Hazel led Frank to the restaurant, where she ordered express service using Annabeth's international credit card.

"You're amazing," Frank said in disbelief.

"Hurry!" panted Hazel as they ran behind a building. Frank morphed into a horse, and Hazel guided him to a DVD movie rental stand.

Just as Hazel climbed back on Frank, she spotted Leo hanging onto Jason's shoulder speeding towards the _Argo II_. Time to act fast.

She urged Frank to go towards the sunny park she'd found, the only place that seemed to have water and shade. When Frank turned back to human, she wasn't surprised to find out that he was exhausted.

"Please can we go back on board?" gasped Frank. "I'm about to collapse."

"Wait," said Hazel, "let's eat first, and watch this short film."

She and Frank wolfed down the entrees she'd bought at the restaurant, just as the film played. Two minutes later, the end credits appeared. Suddenly, a sound erupted from the ship. The departure horn. Leo and Jason had made it back to the ship. But when Hazel hopped up and stuffed the remains of their speed date in her backpack, the ship's hull became frozen in ice.

Annabeth peered over the edge, signaling to Hazel and Frank, who barely managed to transform himself into a hawk that soared towards the rear of the ship. Hazel dropped like a stone onto the back deck, just as Percy came into view.

"You guys are here. Great!" Then Percy dropped his hands, and the ship shot like a bottle rocket under pressure.

A strangled yell roared from down the hall, probably Leo due to the sudden change in speed.

Hazel struggled to lift her head. She couldn't believe what Percy had done for her. "You trapped the ship in ice?" she asked, not really believing it.

He seemed uncomfortable with it, but he nodded. "Ice is just a variation of water. I saw you guys running behind, so I thought I'd slow Leo down a little bit. Although, I can't keep it for long. Poseidon has more of a ocean, liquid water sphere of influence. Ice is more Boreas, God of the North Wind's specialty."

Leo staggered up behind them, gasping. He was drenched in head to toe, and he looked kind of ticked off. Nevertheless, he flashed a good old Leo type grin and reported that they were nearing London, England.

"That extra fuel we picked up in Cairo cuts the already cut time in half. It took ¼ the amount of time. How awesome is that! You guys will be descending into London in a few moments." Then he ran off, helping the ship descend towards a vast city with a giant clock, a dirty river, and people driving on the wrong side of the street.

When Hazel stepped out into London, the smells, the sights, the sounds were so intoxicating. This was like a postcard destination. She saw some people playing football, with a soccer ball instead. Big Ben was just a few miles away, broadcasting the time in full surround-sound stereo, much like the ones Leo put in the mess hall. Buckingham Palace was also nearby, with guards beginning to shift change. Hazel had read about this place as they passed it the previous time, but this was truly amazing, being here in the flesh.

The land party headed towards the British Museum. It looked different than the ones back home, mostly due to the strangely-dressed people hurrying in and out of the building. A vendor was selling cotton candy by the front, with a weird symbol painted on the machine. The vendor's eyes carefully watched anybody who looked at the symbol directly, though most people didn't even notice it. Percy and Jason each bought a cotton candy stick and began sharing it with their girlfriends.

Inside, Hazel was expecting some sort of monster, but the only thing that was of any interest was a tour guide pointing to something under a glass. Hazel strained to listen to the guide.

"Folks, no one is sure of this broken fragment's history. It was a generous donation by someone several decades ago, but no one is sure of exactly who the donor was or what the piece is a part of. Scientists have tested it for any abilities or history it might contain, but for now, it's just a gift."

The tour guide led the mortals down the hall, leaving Jason, Piper, Percy, Annabeth, Frank, and Hazel alone with the piece. Annabeth began to examine it with Daedalus' laptop, and a minute later she nodded.

Percy and Jason seized two plungers from the bathroom and lifter the glass around the piece. Annabeth cautiously moved her hand towards the artifact, and the second she touched it, it began to hiss angrily. The vendor outside barged in, took one look at the gang of teenagers ready to make off with an artifact, and morphed into a black, disembodied cloud.

Hazel drew her _spatha_, noting about how dumb she was for not knowing the guy was obviously an agent of the force they were working against. Meanwhile, the artifact began to glow. It grew so bright that Hazel tried to stop it using her powers. Big mistake.

It blasted Frank full in the face, and he toppled over a glass case and out of sight. Suddenly, something took flight. A bright purple-colored bird flew into the air, its tail smoking. It dove straight at the group.

"The curse!" yelled Piper. "I think that's Frank. The gods turned him into a purple phoenix!"

It did seem like Frank. He wasn't where he had disappeared. Instead, Hazel's boyfriend was attacking them, trying to prevent them from taking the piece of the Golden Omega.

"Grab it and go!" bellowed Percy, who was trying to slash the black cloud to dust. Piper was trying to reason with Frank, but he wasn't listening. Hazel raced over to the Golden Omega and lifted it from the table.

But then, purple phoenix Frank changed direction away from Jason, and shot for Hazel, who was lugging the rather heavy piece all the way to the exit. Annabeth drove her dagger into Frank's side, but thankfully, it only left a small incision.

Hazel stumbled out into the sunlight, with her phoenix boyfriend chasing her, her friends also following, whilst they battled with an enemy agent. She knew Frank could fly faster than she could run, but lo and behold, she spotted the vendor's cart.

This was one for the record books. Hazel jumped onto the cart, which rolled down hill, towards the docks. She remembered the long hill they climbed to the museum.

_Oh, please, let the hill take me straight to the ship. Leo's defense grid will shock Frank back to normal._

But Leo and the ship seemed miles away. Then she turned and saw a delivery truck barreling towards her, with Percy at the wheel, Annabeth sitting beside him, and Jason and Piper on top of the truck, fighting Le Black Cloud.

Percy nearly ran her over, but then she realized he was leaning out the window, firing jets of water at Frank. The phoenix angrily turned on the truck, just as Hazel's cotton candy cart hit a fire hydrant.

"Aaaahhh!" screamed Hazel. She was going to die, and her boyfriend was going to eat her remains. How poetic. Then, Jason yelled something from the truck, something like, "Bail out!"

Then Hazel was gently riding the winds, back to the _Argo II_.

Leo was standing at the wheel, tinkering with something, but he dropped everything and ran to activate the defense grid when he spotted Hazel coming. Hazel didn't know how to _stop_ the winds carrying her. What if she overshot?

It didn't matter, because the defense system went up just as Hazel crossed the threshold of the deck. The winds stopped, and Hazel fell, crashing onto the quarterdeck. Groaning, she managed to move her head in time to watch Leo electrocute Frank. The golden light Hazel blasted in his face suddenly left, and zoomed back inside the Golden Omega.

Hazel saw Piper moving her lips, and the light seemed to be following. Hazel assumed it was her charmspeak. Meanwhile, Jason and Annabeth had jumped clear of the truck as Percy drove it straight into the Thames River. As Percy jumped from the truck, he was landed on by a human and thoroughly disheveled Frank.

Reyna fed Hazel some ambrosia, reminding her of New Orleans' gumbo from her childhood. Her body began to relax, and Leo tugged the Golden Omega piece and hauled it downstairs to the stables.

When Coach Hedge came up after his nap, and saw a hurt Hazel, an electrocuted Frank, and four other weary demigods, he was beside himself.

"_What were you thinking, Levesque! You're not leaving this ship for the rest of the weekend! That's an order! Never in my life...not even with Valdez…"_

Leo emerged from the stables and held up something, something that would brighten Hazel's day even more. A deck of playing cards.

"Poker night, Team Demigod!"


End file.
